Gail Ann Dorsey on 'Singing' Behind a Singer

“I try to choose my bass notes, lines, and phrases carefully and tastefully, just as a great singer would,” says Gail Ann Dorsey. She’s a killer vocalist in her own right who capably backs the cream of the pop-rock crop. The Philadelphia native and resident of Woodstock, New York, has held David Bowie’s bass chair since 1995. Also, she and Cindy Blackman Santana currently provide Lenny Kravitz’s rhythm section with plenty of girl-powered pocket precision. “I thoroughly enjoy the challenge of digging into Lenny’s ‘heavy grooves,’” says Dorsey. “It’s a nice contrast to the smoother, warmer tone and melodic sensibilities that inform my signature sound.”

What does it mean to “sing” through the bass, and how do you go about it?

“Singing” through the bass is ultimately a healthy, intuitive relationship with melody, harmony, phrasing, and space. It’s what makes a player musical as opposed to simply musically capable. I pay very close attention to my musical environment and what the lead-vocal melody is doing within that space. The bass parts I wrote on David Bowie’s “Seven Years in Tibet” from Earthling, and the Tears For Fears track “Falling Down,” from Raoul and the Kings of Spain, are two of my most inspired moments. I used a similar approach to create a counterpoint dance with the lead vocal and the drums. Both verse bass patterns are founded on deep, repetitive grooves that are slightly improvised, not exact. I was purposely looking for a way to “sing” another melodically flavored part on bass that would interact with the lead vocal in a fluid, interesting way.

The act of singing is an ingredient inherent in every musician, even those who can’t carry a tune vocally to save their lives. Ultimately, the idea is to “sing” at the top of your musical voice, no matter what instrument you play.

Kravitz is no slouch on bass himself. What does he demand, and how much does he let you go?

Lenny’s music dictates a completely different approach, but the same principles apply. Lenny plays bass on his records. I rarely deviate from his bass lines onstage because they’re perfectly suited to his music and vocal delivery. Lenny digs in to his bass playing. He gets those big flatwounds flapping! I totally take on his heavy-handed approach and go for bite on songs like “Always on the Run,” “Sex,” and “Are You Gonna Go My Way” because that’s what they need.

Over time with an artist or a song, I may begin to hear spaces suitable for my own personality. Naturally, I have always been a light-touch/warm-sound player. I start “singing” complementary bass ideas that reveal themselves, always remembering that my job is to support. Lenny is not very comfortable with “letting go” on many fronts, but over the four years I’ve been in the band, he’s become more relaxed and comfortable with my sound and note choices. I try to be a pure vessel for the music.

“I PLAY MANY INSTRUMENTS, BUT BASS IS MY PASSION,” SAYS Aston Barrett Jr. Still in his 20s, he is determined to carry the roots-reggae flame originated by his father, Aston “Family Man” Barrett—the Jamaican bass innovator whose resumé runs as deep as his hearty tone, and is most known for the legendary lines he and brother/drummer Carlton “Carly” Barrett forged with Bob Marley & the Wailers.

“I caught a lot of flak early on for being the chicK singer learning bass, but not so much anymore,” says southpaw Danielle Nicole, who won the Blues Foundation’s 2014 Blues Music Award for Best Instrumentalist—Bass.

“I WAS SHOCKED WHEN I GOT KICKED out of my first band because I didn’t have a bass amp,” says Kasim Sulton. “I promised myself I would show those guys!” At age 14, Kasim began on bass by shedding on the techniques of ’60s rockers like Paul McCartney. Since 1976, Sulton has been a lynchpin in guitarist Todd Rundgren’s ensembles— including Utopia—and he recently joined “The Runt” as he performed his 1973 progressive opus A Wizard, a True Star live in its epic entirety. (That band’s current lineup includes Tubes drummer Prairie Prince, Cars keyboardist Greg Hawkes, and longtime GUITAR PLAYER contributor Jesse Gress.) Sulton’s other long-running gig is with Meat Loaf; he played on the Rundgren-produced 1977 classic Bat Out of Hell, and he is currently Meat’s musical director.